Breastfeeding cuts risk of children getting leukaemia

Breastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a lower risk of leukaemia

The study shows breastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a lower risk of leukaemia compared with children who were never breastfed or who were breastfed for a shorter time.

Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer and accounts for about 30 per cent of all childhood cancers, but little is known about its cause.

Breast milk is meant to supply all the nutritional needs of babies and current recommendations include exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months of life to optimise growth, development and health.

Doctors Efrat Amitay and Lital Keinan-Boker, of the University of Haifa in Israel, reviewed the evidence in 18 studies on the association between breastfeeding and childhood leukaemia.

The many potential preventive health benefits of breastfeeding should also be communicated openly to the general public, not only to mothers

Dr Efrat Amitay

They found breastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a 19 per cent lower risk compared with no breastfeeding or breastfeeding for a shorter period.

A separate analysis of 15 studies found that ever being breastfed compared with never being breastfed was associated with an 11 per cent lower risk of childhood leukaemia.

The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal JAMA Paediatrics, suggest several biological mechanisms of breast milk may explain their results.

They say that breast milk contains many immunologically active components and anti-inflammatory defence mechanisms that influence the development of an infant's immune system.

Dr Amitay said: “Health care professionals should be taught the potential health benefits of breastfeeding and given tools to assist mothers with breastfeeding, whether themselves or with referrals to others who can help.

“The many potential preventive health benefits of breastfeeding should also be communicated openly to the general public, not only to mothers, so breastfeeding can be more socially accepted and facilitated.

“In addition, more high-quality studies are needed to clarify the biological mechanisms underlying this association between breastfeeding and lower childhood leukaemia morbidity.”